Who were/are the 5 most influential Americans since Columbus?

Status
Not open for further replies.
John Witherspoon, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, Charles Finney, John Dewey, Henry Ford, William James. :book2:
 
It's hard to think of only five!

That's exactly why I love the question!

Doing the top 10 or 20 is fairly easy and a lot of us could come to agreement, but ranking the top 5 (with defensible reasons for who/why) is terribly difficult.

That, and I had this natural desire to have them spread out over time, and not be loaded with mid-late 20th Century folks.

Fred, the more I think about it, Eli Whitney may just deserve a nod.

Theologians, personally, I think Edwards and Finney are crucial - representing what was and now what is.

Beyond that, I think there's a lot of arguments to be made, so maybe now I'll just continue to sit and watch.

In categories, I think that beyond the two theologians, an evil secularist, an inventor, and a revolutionary wealthy guy (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Gates, etc) would round out the top 5 well.

I thought about Roger Williams, William Bradford, John Smith, et al - but just couldn't find one who, individually, was on the level of these other guys.

Very interesting.
 
Madalyn Murray O'Hair (April 13, 1919 – September 29, 1995) was an American atheist and activist.

She is best known for the lawsuit Murray v. Curlett which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling and ended the practice of daily prayer in American public schools. O'Hair later founded American Atheists[1] and became so controversial that, in 1964, Life magazine referred to her as "the most hated woman in America."[2]
 
Off the top of my head. These aren't my top 5, but they haven't been mentioned:

John Marshall--judicial review in cases like Marbury v. Madison and McCullough v. Maryland which eventually led to a more expansive role of the federal government than some envisioned.

Henry Clay--his American System was finally implemented during the Civil War and led to greater federal involvement in economic development, etc.

Lewis & Clark

John D. Rockefeller

Earl Warren
 
Orson Welles
Cecil B. DeMille
Frank Capra
John Huston
John Ford

We are talking about influential American directors right? What do you mean the world isn't Hollywood-centric?:p;):D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top